British Naturism recently invited all our members to complete a survey and give their views on several aspects of the organisation. The aim was simple: to provide a genuine, unfiltered picture of what our members actually want from their organisation.
That is crucial. It is easy for leaders to develop their own ideas about what is best and then push those ideas forward. But an organisation like British Naturism belongs to its members, and the only way we can properly understand what people want is by listening to them.
The survey attracted a staggering 1,043 responses, with more than 95% of respondents completing the survey all the way through. The majority also took the opportunity to provide extensive free-text comments, going well beyond simply ticking boxes to explain their views in detail.
That tells us something in itself.
Our members really care
The passion, thoughtfulness and sheer depth of the responses are inspiring. They demonstrate that British Naturism is not simply a service that people purchase in exchange for a list of benefits. It is an organisation in which people are involved, invested and genuinely want to see succeed.
And the responses themselves have given us plenty to think about.
They show a fantastic level of enthusiasm for what British Naturism provides, while also giving us clear pointers towards changes and improvements that could make the organisation even better and make membership more fulfilling for even more people.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll share different aspects of what we have learned: what our members value, what they would like to see, and how we can respond. There is far too much in the survey to cover in a single article, so we’ll explore the findings piece by piece.
But for this first instalment, let’s return to one of the clearest conclusions from the survey:
Members really care. British Naturism is an organisation where we are involved and invested.
And nowhere is that more apparent than in one simple word.
Community
When members were asked what they valued most about membership, two of the top three answers were being part of the community and supporting Naturism.
Community.
If the thousands of individual contributions to the survey could be distilled into a single word, this would surely be it.
It is what people value. It is what people find through British Naturism. And the straightforward tick-box questions make that abundantly clear.
But the message becomes even stronger when we look at what members chose to say in their own words.
When asked why they are members of British Naturism, respondents could write whatever they wanted. There was no list of answers to choose from and no suggestion about what they should say.
More than a third specifically identified community and a sense of belonging as being important to them.
That is remarkable.
The same message appears when members were asked whether they would encourage someone else to join British Naturism, and why. Again, community was the dominant theme, being specifically mentioned more than twice as often as any other aspect.
That tells us something important about why people recommend us.
They are not primarily saying, “Join because you will get this particular benefit.”
They are saying, in effect, “Join because you can belong.”
When members were asked “What does British Naturism mean to you?”, community was again the top answer – mentioned twice as often as any other aspect.
And when asked “What would you miss if British Naturism disappeared?”, community and opportunities to meet others were again the leading responses, with mentions more than twice those of any other aspect.
The message is remarkably consistent, whichever way we ask the question.
Community is at the heart of British Naturism.
I expected community to rank as the highest priority. What I underestimated was the sheer strength of feeling behind it.
That is valuable information.
More than a benefit
There is an important distinction here.
Community is not a perk that we can simply add to a membership package. It is not a product that can be purchased, or a single event that can be organised.
It is something that develops through people.
It is created when members meet one another. When friendships form. When someone attends their first event and discovers they are among people who understand them. When an experienced member welcomes somebody new. When people share experiences, support one another and create memories together.
That means our response cannot simply be a short list of easy actions.
Instead, it needs to influence the way we think about the organisation as a whole.
For every decision we make, we should be asking ourselves:
How does this help our members make connections, build relationships and strengthen the community they want to belong to?
That applies to our events and activities, but it goes much further. It applies to how we communicate, how we welcome new members, how we support local groups and clubs, how we develop opportunities to meet, and how we make sure people can find their place within British Naturism.
The survey has given us a very clear starting point.
Our members have told us that community matters enormously to them. They have shown us that belonging is one of the most important reasons they join, remain members and recommend British Naturism to others.
So that is the first task ahead of us: to build on that sense of community and create even more opportunities for people to be part of it.
And it goes without saying that you will be part of that.
Because British Naturism isn't something that happens to our members.
British Naturism is something we create together.
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